Sanctuary
by waterbirds
Summary: Birthdays never were anything but bad luck to Chiaki, even when she did have high spirits. Luckily, someone is there to help.


Chiaki Nanami's mouth opened wide as she rolled around in bed, coming out of the world of dreams and sleep. Normally, her eyes would fight to stay closed against the sound of her alarm, but today was different.

There was light shining through the blinds.

The girl rubbed her dazed eyes at the abnormal light, squinting while she regained consciousness. She moved her Game Girl Advance to the side and looked at the—

"Ten o'clock?!".

Any other day of spring break this would have been heaven for Nanami, but the buzzing on her bed reminded her otherwise. Scrambling around the sheets, she quickly grabbed her phone and rapidly tapped the screen, looking at dozens of missed notifications.

_8:10 PM - Due to the length of the drive, we won't be able to hold the bus for anyone who doesn't arrive on time tomorrow. So don't be late for the class trip! - Miss Chisa_

_8:11 PM - Of course Miss Yukizome! - Sonia_

_March 14th_

_2:09 AM - Happy Birthday my little Chiaki! I'm sorry we won't be able to see you for a while, but I can't wait to hear all about your life in that amazing school when we do meet! - Mom_

Chiaki rolled her eyes at the same text she received every year from one of her parents and scrolled up to the newest ones, guilt making its way through her entire body as she skimmed through them.

_6:16 AM - Teruteru is cooking up a pancake breakfast before the trip, you won't want to miss it! - Akane_

_7:00 AM - Happy birthday Chiaki! Almost everyone is here, I was wondering if you could take a photo with me in a bit? For the occasion of course! - Mahiru_

_7:34 AM - Hey, you coming? We can sit next to each other on the bus if you want! - Kazuichi_

_7:50 AM - Class rep where you at?! - Ibuki_

_7:58 AM - CHIAKI W-_

Nanami threw the phone back across the bed, her body slamming back down onto the mattress. Digging her face into a pillow, she begun to question herself.

Lonely birthdays were nothing new to her, she'd never made any friends to celebrate with before this year. And the one year she _could_ have changed that, what did she do?

Stayed up late playing Pokémon, forgetting to set her alarm.

Even with pushing her birthday to the side, the disappointment in herself was still immense. She was their class representative, let alone the one who helped choose the location for the trip.

A deep sigh escaped Chiaki before rolling around again, forcing her eyes shut against the rays of light. What would she tell them?

She loved them all to death, and didn't want to lie to any of them, even Hiyoko. But...it's not like she wanted them to know about her sleeping probl—

_Knock_

Nanami's eyes opened slowly, directing themselves towards her door. Who in the world could-

_Knock_

One by one, the girl slowly put her bare feet onto the ground, walking over to the door at a moderate pace. Truthfully, she was scared it would be a classmate ready to yell at her. Twisting and pulling the doorknob, her suspense turned into a mixture of emotions at the sight of her visitor.

"Hajime?".

"H-hey Chiaki…".

Nanami quickly noticed Hajime's cheeks turning red, realizing she was still in her nightgown, which was certainly too big for her. Luckily, it wasn't white.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the arcade with me toda—"

"Yes!" the girl bursted out with excitement, an awkward smile appearing on Hajime's face. "Which one...?".

"You can pick." the boy replied. Despite knowing her for months, Hajime still found himself taken aback by Nanami's love for gaming. In a good way, of course.

"Can we go to the local one?" Chiaki asked, beginning to get chilly from the hallway.

"We can." he responded, keeping the excitement present. Nanami found herself thinking less about her recent mistake and more about being able to experience her favorite arcade in the world with the boy she found hope in. She only hoped he felt the same.

A moment of silence passed between the two daydreamers, a fuzzy feeling coming to both of them.

"Um...just give me a sec to change." Chiaki told him, looking down at her lack of warmth.

Hajime nodded, watching the girl turn around and close her door. Immediately, Chiaki stripped off the gown, grabbed her best pair of clothes, a brush and her signature hairpin, then rushed to the bathroom.

* * *

Like a child arriving at the playground, all of Chiaki's worries disappeared after walking through the two sacred doors of the arcade. Likewise, Hajime concerns were overshadowed by the astonishing number of large machines in his view. From timeless classics to newer games he'd never heard of, this arcade had it all.

"What do we do first?" Chiaki was asked, bringing her back to Earth. Luckily, she already had a game on her mind.

"Racing!". Grabbing Hajime by the arm, Nanami led him through the maze, ready to have the time of her life.

From Pinball, Pac-Man and Centipede to modern point and shoot games, Hajime noticed a distinct pattern throughout the day. Chiaki already had the highest score in all the games they'd played, but despite that, she still enjoyed spending time on each and every one of them, even if she'd played them a million times already.

Although, he would be lying if he said he wasn't having as much fun.

"You hate dating games?" Hajime asked, realizing he'd never seen Nanami play or talk about one before. The light-haired girl looked up from her small piece of cake at the boy, wiping the frosting off herself before speaking.

"I don't particularly hate them…" Chiaki replied, quickly putting away the sudden vibrating mess on the table that was her phone. "I just like other games better.".

Hajime figured the vibrating was due to texts from everyone she knew, being the Ultimate Gamer and all, but tried his best to ignore those thoughts. He still hadn't said the magical phrase himself yet.

After their little lunch they did a few more rounds around the arcade, laughing and teasing each other along the way. Even though Chiaki beat his scores in every game they played, Hajime still managed to find some satisfaction knowing his score wasn't at the very bottom. It showed he was...average.

But the scores didn't stop them from cherishing every second they spent with each other. Feeling inseparable at the end of the day, they found themselves together under a familiar glittering fountain, sitting closer than ever before. This was their sanctuary; no island or arcade could match it.

"Today was a lot of fun…" Nanami said slowly, focusing on the screen of her Game Girl Advance. Hajime sat peaking over her shoulder, watching the score go up.

"Yeah." he replied, admiring her talent once again.

"But it's not over yet.".

The numbers on the screen stopped adding up, causing Chiaki to turn to her normally quiet friend. "Wha—"

She stopped herself at the sight of a small box in his hand, wrapped with paper that had all kinds of iconic characters and symbols from video games. Mario, Pikachu, Glados, and even the pickaxes from Terraria and Stardew Valley, all squeezed around a box the size of both her hands.

"It's for you." Hajime told Chiaki, handing her the box. After marveling at the first birthday present she'd received in what felt like forever, she tore the beautiful paper off and took the lid off the box, making her eyes widen.

"Galaga?!". Nanami looked over at Hajime with a look of pure happiness and confusion, not believing what was lying in her hands. "How did you get this? There's only a thousand in existence!".

"My parents gave it to me when I was a kid." Hajime explained, not remember why they gave it to him. "And I thought you might like it since Gala Omega is based off of—"

Chiaki's arms wrapped around him tightly, the smile on her face telling him everything.

"Hajime I—"

_Snap_

The two lit up at a flash from the bushes, freezing at a familiar laugh from a class musician.

"Chiaki ditched us for a date!" the familiar Ibuki yelled, running away with a camera that belonged to the red-haired girl behind her.

"I told you she wasn't as innocent as she looks!" A small girl with twin-tails barked at the other two, making Chiaki and Hajime turn red.

"Um...what are you going to do about that…?" Hajime asked the girl he admired, his heart racing at the thought of dating her.

"I think I'll go with it.".

She leaned her head onto his shoulder and restarted her game system. They both saw the magical starting screen of Galaga load, along with the sound that played when a new game started.

Hajime let her words soak in and tried his best to relax his muscles. Chiaki was special to him, of course he'd take the offer if it meant more days like this. But...no talent helped him today.

Maybe that was a sign.

Wrapping an arm around her, Hajime watched her first high score get higher by the minute, hoping the day was as special to her as it was to him.

"Happy Birthday, Chiaki.".

* * *

A/N: I've never done pure fluff before, but I felt like it would be fitting for a small birthday oneshot. I kinda like it.


End file.
